After Monday night’s Game 3 of the NBA first-round playoff series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Houston Rockets, it was difficult to process how the Wolves could put together one of their most intense and disciplined defensive halves of the entire 2017-18 campaign, and then cough up a whopping 50 points in the third quarter.

But re-watching the game the next day, the avalanche was more understandable. Houston accrued enormous momentum via a steadily rolling snowball of skill, circumstance and serendipity.

Granted, the Wolves did not enter the second half with the same fiery determination to get stops that they demonstrated in the first 24 minutes. And yes, that tiny drop-off meant a precious extra inch of space for the Rockets’ floor commanders James Harden and Chris Paul to exploit.

But this wasn’t all on the Wolves defense. Harden slithered with a little more connivance on his dribble penetration and didn’t casually settle for...